Cream of Potato Soup

Today was finally the March for Babies here in Meadville, and it was a great success. Thanks to everyone who donated, Mike was able to raise almost $1400, I got $500, and our team was just shy of $2500. It was a gorgeous day for a five mile walk, and we really enjoyed ourselves. Evan especially enjoyed all the extra attention that came with being the "ambassador kid"--I'm sure it's a day he won't ever forget. It makes us really happy to be able to give back to the organization that did so much to help our family. And, as promised, one of my lucky donors will be getting a March of Dimes angel bear in the mail this week!

In addition to the March, Evan started coach pitch on Saturday. He is thrilled to be getting back on a team again. He jumped right in at the practice, playing catch with a friend and running the bases. His swing is a bit rusty, but that will improve as he gets used to the bat again. We haven't been letting him use his metal bat in the yard so that Grady's head will stay in one piece. Games are Saturdays starting the 17th, so we're hoping to get plenty of practice in before then.

I'm exhausted from walking and chasing the kids around the fairgrounds all day, so I'm going to call it a night. Mike is already resting his blistered feet on the couch, and I think I should go join him.

Posted by jenny at 8:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last night Mike and I were trying to figure out if we're overprotective parents. We were driving home through town and saw a little boy (younger than Ev) running in and out of the street in front of his house, no parents in sight. So we started talking. Would we let Evan play outside without us? In the backyard? Out front? What about at the neighbor's? We've never let him outside without direct supervision, and we don't know at what point we will.

Let me say that for all intents and purposes, Evan is a perfectly normal six year old. He has his quirks, but he doesn't do anything that's reckless, he's a stickler for the rules, and he's pretty smart. Is he old enough to play in the back of the house without me being out there with him? I am sure I did at that age, but our yard was fenced in and I think my parents knew every person in every house on our street and the next. We live in a nice safe neighborhood with not much traffic, and most of our neighbors work with Mike, but I don't know if I feel like he'd be okay out by himself.

When can kids ride their bikes to Country Fair to buy Now and Laters? When can he pack a lunch and walk to the park with a gang of his buddies? When can he go to a friend's house without me taking him there? When can he go to the mall with friends and spend too much time hanging out at the arcade? I know when I did all these things, but my brain keeps saying things were different then. Maybe they weren't that different, but I feel like we were somehow safer.

Or maybe I didn't know the danger. My mom used to warn us about the bad kids who hung out in the pits at the Millcreek Mall, but she never warned us about sexual predators. Our principal made us recite "We don't walk or talk or ride with strangers. We don't take anything, we don't give directions, and we don't show them anything," every day before we left school (it never occurred to me what I might "show" them, but I was only 7). I know Ev knows all these things, we've talked to him about "stranger danger" and looking both ways when you cross the street, but I'm still hesitant about giving him the wiggle room.

I don't want to be one of those parents who can't let go, whose rules are suffocating, who doesn't want their child to grow up. I guess I'm just not sure of the best way to let him.

Posted by jenny at 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Cara just texted me to alert me that Ferris is on AMC tonight. So I'm watching from the office, putting in some computer time and just relaxing now that the boys are in bed. Love this movie--I don't think a day goes by that I don't quote from some part of it. "I didn't hit you, I lightly slapped you," was just now. Classic.

We've been outside almost constantly since the weather turned, and it's been great. The boys are thrilled to spend time in the backyard and at their favorite playgrounds again, and we even went mini-golfing over the weekend. Grady really loved that (they had little plastic clubs for tiny guys), and I was happy that there weren't many other people there so we could take our time. Especially when G was deliberately throwing his ball into the water hazards over and over.

Evan stayed up late Saturday because Allegheny was having a fireworks display up at the football field. We could have watched it from home, but Ev was really pumped about going up to the field, so he and I made the trip while Daddy stayed home with sleeping G. It was a great display, and we sat pretty close which made it even more exciting.

The only problem was that it was a college function, which meant it was attended by mostly college kids. I have no problem with them, they don't bug us, we don't bug them, we happily coexist. But pretty much every other word we heard up there was the f-bomb, and there was lots of smoking going on of various types, and the smell of booze was very obvious. I was worried that Ev was going to pick up some of these choice words that were being shouted all around him, but he was pretty good. I told him not to repeat anything he heard, and so far he hasn't. He yells at me if I say "stupid", so I guess I shouldn't have worried. He also took it upon himself to tell these kids why they shouldn't smoke and the reasons it's bad for them. I hope he's as good at sticking to his guns when he's 12 as he is now at age six.

Posted by jenny at 8:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Grady's been dethroned.

My brother Steven and his wife Stacey welcomed their son, Nathaniel Timothy, into the world late yesterday afternoon. I am excited to have another nephew, and the boys are thrilled to have a new cousin. Grady and I got a chance to go up and see him at the hospital today, and he's an absolute sweetheart. It's been less than two years since I had Grady, but I had forgotten just how tiny new babies are. They just melt you with their soft little cheeks and sweet baby smells.

So it will be nice to have a new baby in the family again--one I can cuddle and hold and love and then give back to his parents. And it means Grady is bigger than someone finally, so that's a huge win.

Posted by jenny at 3:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love Grady, I really do. He's so funny, and his laugh is so perfect, and he is sweet and cute and you can't help but want to kiss his fat little belly. Especially when he lifts his shirt to you and says, "button?" with a glint in his eye because he knows you can't resist him.

So I can overlook the fact that he's stopped napping unless we happen to be driving in the car. He even asked to go for a ride in the car earlier this week just so he could sleep. And I can ignore the fact that he could sit in his own poop for hours--it just means I have to be extra vigilant and keep my nose peeled (or something like that). And I can deal with the fact that he wants to walk everywhere now, even if it takes twice as long and he eventually starts doing jelly legs and making me trip all over myself in public.

For all the little tough bits, I'm really enjoying this age. He'll be 22 months on Saturday, which frees me to say he's almost two so people don't have to puzzle out the months anymore. Grady finds excitement in everything. He loves to look and touch and ask, he's curious and interested and still small enough for me to overpower should he throw a tantrum. I miss the newborn stuff sometimes, sure, but when it's all said and done I think I'll miss this age the most. It's such a short and special time. I'm trying to savor this not quite two-ness--it will be gone before we know it.

Posted by jenny at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We've been spending the last few days outside, enjoying the sun and the mud and the ability to be in the backyard for the first time in months. Mike's been concentrating on cleaning out the garage and pruning trees, while the boys rediscover toys and take me for long walks around the neighborhood.

Grady has been starting to string words together in the last week or so, which has been interesting. Mike's button-down dress shirt is "dada work", if he wants milk on his cereal it's "wawa eat", and if something's going on below deck he'll say "butt butt". He always wants a "butcha" (blanket) when he's sitting on the couch, and once in a while he still asks to "nuss" but is sadly denied. It's fun to hear him come up with new words all the time.

Evan made his first phone call to a friend yesterday, without prompting. He got off the bus from school and called someone from his class just to chat. I was floored--I never expected him to do that. He even invited this boy over for a play date this weekend. I'm not sure if the timing will work out for Saturday, but just the fact that he's making friends has me so excited. He still has a few issues with social stuff, but he's doing so much better than he was.

I'd like to write more, but Grady is screaming. I guess he's not going to bed any time soon!

Posted by jenny at 8:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)